FiveRegion Rush
by Sarcastically Insane
Summary: While this story is based in the game world, it draws minor inspiration from many other works, including my own adventures in the games. The storyline is completely original, even if it seems similar to 'boy leaves home to challenge league'.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue (Three Years Prior)

"Now I see what I have truly done, Red. You have shown me Lance's true intentions… I never thought that my greed would allow this much damage to occur. I will disband Team Rocket as best I can, but I do not control its entirety. I can only try…"

"No!" shouted Red. "You will destroy Team Rocket! You owe me this much, Giovanni! I nearly lost my arm to save you, and then you betrayed me! If it wasn't for Blue, I would kill you… but he says you have someone that you have to protect. I know how that is, and I also know how hard it is to get by without a father, so I'll leave you. But promise me that you will make sure that Team Rocket never takes another life! My father, my brother… and nearly my mother! Blue's family! The people of Cinnabar Island! All the Pokemon that you've slaughtered! And her…. I spent two years healing while everyone thought I had died! She died trying to avenge me WHEN I WASN'T EVEN DEAD! All of this because of YOU!"

"Red… I know your pain. When I was a child, my family died when the Celedon Game Corner's construction site collapsed. I went into denial… my first Pokemon was stolen, my family gone... I had nothing left. When I finally found the thief, he nearly killed me, but my Gardevoir… my last Pokemon... she saved my life at the cost of hers. Completely grief-stricken and enraged, I killed the thief and took his Pokemon, and, locking my memories away, joined Team Rocket. In a few years I was at the head of the organization's Kanto sect, and you came along. After all you did, it took you defeating me here to realize what I've become. Here, take this… it will allow you to disengage the barrier around the Indigo Plateau. That is all I can offer at this point…."

***

Chapter One

The Journey Begins

(Present Day)

Gold watched the waves roll by the side of the ship. He had turned thirteen on the trip to Johto, and he wanted to get his first Pokemon, right NOW. Gold and his mother were moving from Hoenn and its rising criminal population to Johto, so that Gold could start his adventure in a safer place. They were heading to the port in Cyanwood City, then taking a ferry all the way to New Bark Town.

Three hours later, Gold stepped off of the ferry and into New Bark Town. He knew from the maps he had studied on the boat that Johto, along with the region to the east, Kanto, made up the Indigo continent. He knew that the first town he would visit on his journey would be Violet City, which also held the first gym. And finally, he knew that the Indigo Plateau was across the Mount Silver. He was ready to sprint straight towards the lab he could make out at the other edge of the small village when his mother yelled for him to help unpack.

"Great," Gold thought before checking his watch. "Nine at night and I have to help my mom unpack everything we own. And the lab closed an hour ago…"

---

The next day, Gold got up and grabbed a pair of cargo shorts and a white shirt from his suitcase, one of the only things left unpacked because he was going to leave soon. He didn't even bother to comb his hair, so his hair was a mess, especially one bang that kept going into his face, so he put a hat on. He grabbed two extra sets of clothes to stuff in a backpack and slipped on a hoodie with his own design on it, a present from his uncle. Rushing out past his mom, he went straight over to the Pokemon Research Lab, headed by Professor Elm.

"Well, hello there," said Professor Elm when he saw Gold. "You must be Gold, the new boy from Hoenn. I understand that you are thirteen, so go ahead and choose a Pokemon; Chicorita, a grass type, Cyndaquil, a fire type, or Totodile, a water type. Choose quickly, though: today is Crystal's birthday, and I'm expecting her soon."

Gold thought about it for a minute: he knew that fire types were strong, and if you trained them enough, even water types were easy to defeat. But water types were notoriously fast, and Totadile's evolutions were very strong. And yet, grass types were balanced, and they could heal themselves. Just as Crystal came in, Gold picked up the Poke Ball for Cyndaquil.

Crystal was dressed in shorts, a tank top, and a light vest. Her blue hair was a mess, and she looked like she had just woken up, but was wide-eyed and on edge.

"Hey, Professor Elm," Crystal said. "And you must be… Gold? Yeah, that's it. Huh? You got your Pokemon? Please tell me you didn't take Chicorita!"

"No, I chose Cyndaquil, don't worry," replied Gold.

As Crystal picked up Chicorita, Elm said, "Why don't you give them nicknames?" Gold thought that it was a great idea, and nicknamed Cyndaquil Flare. Crystal decided not to nickname her Chicorita. "Now," said Elm, "could you take this Egg to Professor Oak? He's on the trail north of here. He might think this is interesting, as nobody has seen a Pokemon Egg quite like this one."

Gold and Crystal accepted, but as they were at the outskirts of the village, Gold's stomach growled.

"I forgot breakfast!" he said as he ran back home, leaving Crys laughing before her own hunger hit her.

Thirty minutes later, they left, both set for the journey they were setting out on.

"So you want to be a battler, Crystal?" Gold asked as they walked.

"Please don't call me Crystal. I never liked that name… people usually call me Crys, probably because I'm a tomboy. But no, [I]my[/I] goal is to become the world's most renowned natural Pokemon Professor. I want to find ways to help the environment using Pokemon that want to help me. You see, my father was poisoned by toxic sludge at a factory that was polluting the environment. I fear that one day, I'll get a call from the hospital that he didn't make it…"

"Oh, sorry…" Gold apologized. "Well, I want to be the first person to go to all five known regions- Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Orre- get all the badges, and win the Indigo Rivalry, the Silver Conference, the Ever Grande Championship, the World Battle, and the Shadow Tournament, respectively."

At this, Professor Oak's cabin came into view.

"Race ya," said Gold, and the duo was off.

As they knocked on the cabin door, Professor Oak answered and let them in. After an hour of lecturing about Pokemon, how to catch them, where they lived, their individual personalities, and something about youngsters not knowing how much they have it made, Gold and Crys slipped out with the Pokeballs that they were given during the "how to catch them" part.

"At least now we have some Poke Balls, and we know the path to get to Violet City," said Gold. "That's were the first Gym is."

"And," replied Crys, "Sprout Tower is located there, too. It's renowned around these parts for being a guardian of the city."

As they approached the Violet City Gates, a Ledyba appeared out of the grass.

"Sweet, some training!" Gold yelled as he threw Flare's Poke Ball.

As Flare appeared, he yawned and lay down. The Ledyba noticed them now, and tackled Flare. As Flare flew backwards, he somersaulted mid-air and sent a small stream of fire from his mouth, badly burning the Ledyba. Then, Gold threw one of his empty Poke Balls at it to capture it. As the ball rolled back and forth, Gold knew it could pop open and break the Poke ball. After a few rolls, it stopped, and Gold knew he had caught his first Pokemon.

"Oh, yeah, Ledyba is mine!" Gold yelled. Then a thought occurred to him, and he said, "Actually, I'll call it Ledya. I'll nickname all my Pokemon."

As they walked into Violet City, they were astounded. Gold had grown up in Littleroot Town, with about thirty other people. Crys had grown up in New Bark Town, with only seventeen other people. But Violet City was huge compared to them. It had over 150 people with over seventy Pokemon, plus all the bird Pokemon living above the city and the Bellsprout in Sprout Tower.

Then there was the Gym. When it came into sight, the Gym Leader was performing on the roof with his Pokemon. Pidgeotto, Murkrow, and Staravia were all there, and the Gym Leader was riding them, jumping from one to another as they flipped and did stunts. Then, they all used Ariel Ace, flying at Mach 1 in a circle, and Gold knew he had no chance against such fast Pokemon.

"I need to train first," he thought before saying, "Let's go to Sprout Tower."

As they wandered around the city, it came into view: ten stories tall, covered in greenery, and rocking gently. He knew it was the perfect place to train.

When they got inside, Gold went off and said he'd return at dusk, leaving Crys to study to "Bellsprout Pillar", the supporting column in the center of the tower. Legend had it that a hundred-foot-tall Bellsprout had been the protector of the city in feudal times. When it was badly hurt by a bewitched Entei, the Entei broke the spell and granted the Bellsprout one wish. The Bellsprout wished to be a monument to peace, and was transformed into the tower's pillar. Entei then told the city to build a tower around the pillar so that they could fulfill the Bellsprout's wish, and be protected by it.

She decided that she needed a better look, so Crys went up a few floors. While she was climbing the stairs, a Bellsprout appeared and attacked her!

"Go! Chicorita!" yelled Crys as she threw Chicorita's Poke Ball. When Chicorita appeared, she used Razor Leaf to attack the Bellsprout, who countered in the same way, sending sickle-shaped leaved toward their opponent. When the attacks collided in midair, the Bellsprout released a cloud of orange powder and blew it towards Chicorita. Chicorita then used Razor Leaf to reverse the direction of the powder and tackled Bellsprout. As Crys was about to throw a Poke Ball at it and capture it, the Bellsprout spit a purple substance at Chicorita, and Leaf turned white and froze. Chicorita turned to see what was wrong, and Bellsprout attacked her. All of a sudden, an old man appeared and calmed the Bellsprout.

"Who might you be?" the old man asked. "And why did you just attack a Pokemon from our tower?"

"Bellsprout attacked me," explained Crys, "so my Chicorita attacked it. Then it used a purple a-attack…" She froze again.

"What is wrong?" the old man inquired.

"Th-the poison… not poison…" Crys calmed herself before explaining. "I want to help clean the world up from pollution because my father was poisoned, and I want to let him see a cleaner world when he wakes up. But poisons scare me horribly bad."

As the old man nodded, the Bellsprout Pillar started to rock back and forth. Then Crys heard Chicorita say, "It's true, I promise."

"Did you just speak?" Crys asked, bewildered.

"Yes, your Chicorita has spoken. You have been granted this by the Bellsprout that became a pillar. He sees you as a worthy person," the old man said, and left.

---

Three floors up, Gold sent Flare and Ledya out of their Poke Balls. He went around the floor and gathered about twenty Bellsprout and said to them, "I need to train for the Violet Gym battle. Would any of you like to help by battling my Pokemon, Flare and Ledyba?" At this, the Bellsprout began to nod slightly. "Thanks, we can do one-on-one battles. Who wants to go first?"

A few Bellsprout stepped forward and assumed fighting stance. For the next hour, Gold trained his Pokemon, having Flare use Ember and Ledyba using Comet Punch and Gust when, after a battle with a particularly feisty Bellsprout, Ledya evolved! As he glowed, some Bellsprout seemed to smile. Then, all of a sudden, there was a Ledian!

"Awesome, Ledya evolved!" Gold yelled.

Then an old man appeared. "You revel in fighting, and are joyous when someone becomes stronger. Why?"

"I want to become a great Pokemon trainer," Gold said. "I asked the Bellsprout if they could help me with the first step, the Violet Gym, and they agreed to help me by battling. They even smiled when Ledian evolved!" Gold answered.

"Very well…" the old man said.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I only included the five regions I chose because more than five seemed too much, and the Ranger series has mentioned that Pokeballs are illegal (or something similar, I haven't played them). Reason two? It worked with the plot I had thought out.

***

As Gold and Crys walked through Violet City, they talked about the weird old man in Sprout Tower.

"He knew about Chicorita," Crys told Gold, "even before I told him. Do you think he lives there?"

"Nah," Gold replied. "But this guy, Falkner, he's going DOWN! Right, Cyndaquil?"

"But still, if he knew, why didn't he talk with Chicorita? When she told him that it was all true, it seemed like he didn't understand her, at least not the way I do."

"Who cares?" Gold said, bored.

As they walked into the Violet Gym, a young man dropped in from the upper floor. He was dressed in very baggy white pants and a gi. He had a green eye, and his dark hair covered his left eye; oddly, it seemed to make him more observant.

"I am Falkner, the Gym Leader here!" he yelled. "Are you a challenger?"

"No," Gold yelled back, taking out Flare's Pokeball, "I'm a winner!"

"We'll see about that," Falkner replied. Then he took out a remote from his pocket and pressed a button, and the ceiling began to slide open. "When I battle, I battle in the sky. I'm a master of Flying Pokemon. People make fun of Flying types, saying they're too weak to carry a heavy load of rocks, or that you can clip their wings with electricity. Some even say that a Flying Pokemon is useless if it's too cold. But they're wrong! Flying Pokemon are beautiful, and I fly with them! Go, Murkrow!"

"You seem a bit defensive," said Gold as he threw Flare's Pokeball.

Flare used Ember right away, but Murkrow quickly dodged it and threw out a Shadow Ball. Flare used Quick Attack to dodge and then ran at Murkrow, but Murkrow just flew up to dodge. His black feathers then began to become a dark grey, and kept getting lighter, ever so slowly. Flare just took aim and used Quick Attack to run up the walls, jump backwards, and land on Murkrow. Then he used Ember and knocked him out of the sky.

However, because he was on Murkrow's back, Flare was falling, too. As they hit the ground, Flare yelled that he was alright. However, Murkrow was still getting brighter and brighter. The glare from it was beginning to blind Flare. All of a sudden, Murkrow unleashed the light- in a Sky Attack! The shimmering attack blew through Flare, nearly knocking him out. He only had the strength to use and Ember… that became Flamethrower! It hit Murkrow right on the spot where he landed, knocking him out. However, Flare was too tired to go on, and had to go back into his Pokeball.

"Wow, nobody's ever survived Sky Attack long enough to get another hit in," Falkner said. "But that's not a problem- go, Staravia!"

"That just means I'm the best, and we all know it's true!" Gold yelled back. "Go, Ledya!"

Gold knew that Ledya was at a type disadvantage because she was a Bug type, but Staravia didn't use the unique moves Ledya had. Ledya started out with a few Agilities, and then used Mach Punch at full speed. Staravia had barely even moved at this point, and was hit dead-on. Because he was also Normal-typed, Staravia took normal damage from the hit. Then Ledya used Comet Punch and hit Staravia too many times to count. Staravia had already sustained too many hits and fainted.

"Wow, that's one quick bug. Too bad I'm going to have to use my dad's Pidgeotto to take it out! Go, Pidgeotto!"

As Pidgeotto came out, Ledya was already using Agility as many times as she could to out-speed Pidgeotto. However, Pidgeotto used Aerial Ace and Quick Attack together to get to the same speed as Ledya. As Pidgeotto came in to Peck at her, Ledya flew up out of the Gym. Pidgeotto landed, and Falkner hopped on her back, while Gold ran outside. As Pidgeotto took off, Ledya used Silver Wind over and over to power herself up. Pidgeotto dodged them all, and used Mirror Move to send the attacks back at Ledya. Then Pidgeotto used Air Slash to try and cut Ledya out of the sky, but she dodged it and used Swift, hitting Pidgeotto square in the chest.

When Falkner realized the danger, he had Pidgeotto fly over to the outside of Sprout Tower and land on the spiraling walkways surrounding the building. Then Pidgeotto went back and attacked Ledya with Peck. Ledya dodged and used Comet Punch and Mach Punch together, hitting Pidgeotto with a huge barrage of fists. Realizing that Gold had sent out a Pokemon that was ''weak'' against Flying types, Falkner figured that Ledya was Gold's last Pokemon and took a gamble- he used Brave Bird, which his dad had meticulously taught to Pidgeotto, and slammed into Ledya, but Gold saw the power from the attack and had Ledya use Safeguard to help protect against most of the damage. Luckily, Ledya barely survived, but Pidgeotto had taken too much punishment and fainted.

Falkner glided down from Sprout Tower and back into the Gym's open roof. As Gold walked in, he was awarded the Zephyr Badge, a hexagon with some of the center cut out to resemble two wings.

"Congratulations, Gold," Falkner said. "I never imagined that a Bug type could defeat a Flying type."

"You're the one who was ranting about how type disadvantages aren't everything before the battle," Gold replied. "But good battle- I was pretty on edge there for a second."

"Yeah… hey, I'm sorry for what I said before the battle. It's just that some kid came in here last night with a Totodile and used Ice Beam over and over and took out all of my Pokemon… it really steamed me. I was hoping that I could win this battle… I'm a new Leader, you see, because my dad left a few months ago. Every challenger has won since then… all four. I'm not suited for this Gym life."

"I want to travel around the world! That's what I love about Flying Pokemon- they're completely free. But your battling style really impressed me. Do you mind if I join you? I'm pretty good at catching Pokemon, and my grandfather could watch over the Gym. Leaders also have a fund for food and such, so we could buy supplied a bit easier. What do you say, Gold?"

"I say sure, we could use someone else besides Crys and me. We're staying at the Pokemon Center, and we're leaving tomorrow around nine, heading towards Azalea Town. Meet us at the southwest gate."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: For a while, I'll probably post the chapters every other day or so, just to catch up with where I am on Bulbagarden. I took so long to post this chapter because of events in my personal life. All I'll say to explain it here is, it includes Valentine's Day and my girlfriend.

***

Chapter Three

Wailing Waters

"You may have enough money to buy food," Crys said, "but, Falkner, your cooking... sucks. Kinda like that Totodile that was stolen from Elm. I can't believe someone would steal a Pokemon!"

"Hey, she has a point about the food," Gold agreed. "Have you EVER tasted this?"

"Once," Falkner said, "but my dad helped me cook it. That's one of the last good memories I had with him. After that, some challenger nearly killed his silver Staraptor, and he became really depressed. He had caught that Staraptor as his first Pokemon, and it became legendary around these parts. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. When it finally became healthy again, he kept on moping. Eventually, he got a job offer from some guy in Kanto, and he left two months ago for the position."

"Wow, how long was he like that?" Crys asked.

"It happened when I was three," Falkner said. "It was also the year he taught me how to use a glider. I've had to train with him since then, just to keep him going..."

"My dad used to run a Gym," Gold said. "Back in Hoenn, my dad ran the Petalburg Gym. He used to be so engrossed in training and renovations; he never really talked to me. My first Pokemon was actually a Beldum from my cousin, but I always had to hide it from my dad, because he was a stickler to the "must be thirteen" rule. When we moved, I had to leave it behind because I couldn't find it in time. He was never close to me, and because of the move, my mom probably hates him, too."

"That had to suck, leaving behind Beldum because of your dad," Falkner said soberly. "My dad made me start training when I was five. I was closer to my Pokemon than him."

"My dad's been in the hospital since I was a little kid, and I never knew my mom. My dad used to talk about her, saying she saved him. He would never tell from what, though."

"Hey, we don't want to go through the Ruins of Alph," Falkner said. "They've found some new chamber and the scientists are like rabid dogs if you touch something. We'll need to go through Union Cave if we want to get to Azalea Town."

As the trio entered the cave, they heard a mournful wailing.

"What was that?" Crys asked, startled.

"I've never heard anything like it," Falkner said, "and I've been exploring this cave since I was a kid."

While they wandered the cave, they eventually began to follow the wailing noise. All of a sudden, a faint glow registered in their eyes. They ran forward, thinking it was the exit, but they found a spring of glowing water. In the center, a lone Lapras was wailing. It had a chunk of ice on one of its front flippers and a crack in its shell. When it saw them, it let loose an Ice Beam, but the attack was so weak it dissipated in midair.

"It looks so pitiful," Crys said. "Who would have done this?"

"Me" said a nearby voice, "because I need to catch it."

"That voice," Falkner said in disbelief, "it's the kid who beat me!"

"That could be anyone, Falkner," said the red-haired boy. "But yes, I, Silver, defeated you."

"Why are you doing this to Lapras?" Gold yelled. "You're killing it!"

"If a Bite and Ice Beam would kill it, it's too weak for my team. Too bad, I thought Lapras didn't suck."

"Damn you! No Pokemon deserves that kind of treatment!" yelled Crys.

"Whoa, she's a feisty bitch," Silver shot back.

This pushed Crys over the edge, and she threw out Chicorita, who started with a Razor Leaf at Silver, but his Totodile came out of nowhere and Ice Beamed them, stopping them in midair and shattering them.

"Totodile?" Gold said. "That's the Pokemon Professor Elm said was stolen! He's the thief! Go, Flare!"

"Thief?" Falkner said. "Damn him! Go, Pidgeotto!"

Even with the three-on-one matchup, Silver remained confident. He had Ice Beam to take out Chicorita and Pidgeotto and Water Gun to take out Flare.

But Chicorita used Energy Ball, and when Totodile tried to Ice Beam it, the core froze, but not the outside, so when it hit Totodile, the Grass-type outside and the Ice-type center hit him together for massive damage, knocking him out.

"Damn," Silver said. "Screw this; I have to get to the Slowpoke Well before the damn Rockets." At this he ran off.

"Wow," Falkner and Gold said in unison. "I never knew you could be so intense, Crys."

"What about the Lapras?" she asked. As she looked over, the Lapras began to swim over to Crys. When it got the edge of the spring, they saw how deep the gash was underneath the cracked shell. The Transport Pokemon lowered its head into Crys's arms and died.

"Laaa-prrrraaaaassssss." A mournful wail came from the far side of the spring, where the glow wasn't as bright, and a baby Lapras swam over to its dead mother. "Laaaaaaaaaaa?"

"Oh my God," Crys gasped. "The bastard killed this baby's mother. I'll murder him!"

When she said this, the Lapras drew back, and seemed scared.

"I'm sorry," Crys apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you. Would you like to come with us?"

The baby Lapras seemed to nod its head, and Crys used a Pokeball to catch it. Then they set the dead Lapras adrift with a few burning leaves from Chicorita's Razor Leaf. As the Lapras drifted, the spring dimmed, and eventually went out. In the darkness, they could see a pinpoint of light that had to be the exit. They walked towards it silently.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Great Times

As Gold, Crys, and Falkner walked through the short stretch of forest between Azalea Town and Union Cave, they began to discuss Silver. They knew he had stolen Totodile, but they were unsure if that was his only Pokemon.

"I think so," Gold said. "If it wasn't, why didn't he fight back after his Totodile got knocked out?"

"He could have a strategy, unlike you," Falkner replied.

"Hey!" Gold and Flare yelled in unison.

"Calm down, you two," Crys said, breaking up their quarrel. "Gold's right, he would have fought back. That kid... it doesn't seem like he would hold back."

Falkner was about to argue, but then he remembered that Crys was upset about Silver killing the Lapras. "Yeah..." he agreed.

They continued walking until a man in a black cloak stopped them. "Hey!" he yelled. "You kids can't come through here!"

"Why not?" Gold said. "You don't own the forest."

"'Cause I said so!" the cloaked man answered as he threw out a Pokeball. As it hit the ground, a Snorlax came out. "Snooooooooor-laaaaxxx" it yawned.

"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be!" Flare said as he jumped off of Gold's head. "You're gonna eat those words!"

"Huh?" Gold said. "What did he say?"

As Flare was answering, the Snorlax jumped at him, and Flare barely got out of the way in time.

"I'll tell you later," Flare said. Then he used Flamethrower, but the Snorlax just brushed it of like it was nothing. Then Snorlax began to glow, and as it lumbered towards Flare, it gained momentum. Finally, it jumped up and used Giga Impact. Flare used Quick Attack to get away, but he was hit by the shockwave of the landing. The Snorlax then sent out a pool of purple liquid that was surely dangerous, but Flare jumped over it and set it on fire with his back, clearing it out.

"Did Snorlax just...?" Falkner asked.

Flare then turned around and used Smokescreen to blind Snorlax, then began to charge up his inner heat. He focused it, and, with a massive blaze on his back, used Flamethrower to set the smoke on fire. In the massive explosion, Flare was knocked back, but the Snorlax was out cold.

"Yeah!" yelled Gold. "That's showin' them how it's done!"

But then the Snorlax began to get up and glow again. As it ran towards Flare, who was too weak to dodge, it was hit by a massive pillar of shimmering air.

"Good Sky Attack, Murkrow!" Falkner said. "Gold, you think Flare and Murkrow could do a little combo? Air Slash, Murkrow!"

Seeing what Falkner meant, Gold had Flare use Flamethrower... at Murkrow's attack. As they collided, the oxygen in the Air Slash caught on fire, but it continued to move towards Snorlax! The sleepy giant couldn't move fast enough with the energy drain from Giga Impact, so it was hit. But Falkner had another plan-he had Murkrow use Whirlwind as soon as the flaming Air Slash hit, and the air and leaves around Snorlax were kicked up and set on fire, finally knocking out the giant Pokemon.

"You think that's all I have?" said the cloaked man as he withdrew Snorlax. "Go, Zubat!"

As soon as the Zubat came out, Flare used Swift and Quick Attack at the same time, surrounding himself with the whirling stars, then smashing into the Zubat, who fell instantly.

"Crap! Zubat, return!" yelled the cloaked man. "Go, Koffing! Use Smog so we can get out of here!"

The purple, balloon-like Pokemon came out, and he let out an especially large amount of purple gas. Flare and Murkrow tried to get in closer, but the gas was too noxious. Flare tried to set it on fire, but this didn't work either. When Murkrow finally cleared out the Smog with Whirlwind, the cloaked man was gone.

"I wonder who that was," Falkner said.

"I-I d-don't kn-now..." Crys replied, stammering. "B-bu... b-bu... h-he didn't s-seem like a v-very good p-person..." It was obvious that she was scared out of her wits.

"What's wrong, Crys?" Falkner asked.

"Maybe it's the poison," Gold guessed. "She has chemophobia, the irrational fear of anything chemical. Her dad was nearly killed by a Muk's Toxic attack."

"She's afraid of poison?" Falkner asked. "Didn't she fight Bellsprout in Sprout Tower..." he slowed down. "Grandpa talked with you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So that's why you've been talking to Flare. You can actually hear him, can't you?"

"How'd you figure that out?"

"My grandfather, the caretaker of Sprout Tower, doesn't let anyone do practically anything in Sprout Tower unless they're worthy, and that basically means the Bellsprout Pillar grants them a gift, generally speech to a Pokemon close to them. He's always complaining about how nobody is worthy these days."

"G-guys?" Crys cried. "H-help... p-please... I'm s-scared..." She was rocking back and forth in the fetal position while Gold and Falkner had their conversation.

"Oh, uh... don't worry, Crys," Falkner said as he walked over to her. "We beat the poison Pokemon, okay?"

"I-if y-you say s-so," she replied. She stood up, still holding herself, while Chicorita and Falkner assured her as they walked toward Azalea Town.

---

When they reached Azalea Town it was already dark outside, so they went to the Pokemon Center for a room. Gold and Falkner shared a bunk while Crys lie down on her own bed. She sobbed quietly throughout the night, but she didn't disturb Gold, who was snoring loudly, or Falkner, who seemed on edge, even while he was asleep.

In the morning, Gold woke up to see that Crys was sound asleep and Falkner was gone. He carefully got up and changed into a black T-shirt, hat, and cargo shorts, forgoing his usual hoodie because of the humidity in Azalea Town. He went to the lobby, and found that Falkner was in the kitchen.

"I hope that you're not cooking for the whole Center," Gold said sarcastically. "Because, you see, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."

"Ha-ha," Falkner replied. "I'm not cooking, I'm taking lessons on how to. I'm also gathering supplies to cook with. We don't want anymore of those burnt hamburgers, do we? Hey, where's Flare?"

"Still asleep. I've never seen a Pokemon so lazy yet so fast."

"Hey!" Flare said as he crawled into the kitchen. "I'm not lazy. I just want to store up my energy for evolution. Besides, when I do evolve, I won't ever fit on your head again."

"Yeah, when you're a Typhlosion, I get to ride you."

"Screw you. Now bow down, human, so I can ride you and sleep."

"Hey, Gold, Falkner," Crys said sleepily as she walked in, dressed in a pink nightshirt and -pants with Psyduck on them. "Falkner, are you seriously cooking for the whole Center? Just remember, this is where people and Pokemon come to get better, not worse."

"Not you, too," Falkner said. "Hey, Gold, are you going up against the Gym here? Bugsy just took over for his brother, Aaron, a year ago. He uses Bug-type, and is even more greenhorn at battling than wild Pokemon!"

"He's been a Leader for longer than you and you're calling him 'greenhorn'?" Crys asked. She still seemed a little shaken from the day before.

"Actually, I've been running the Gym, using my dad's Pokemon, for about five years. That's the great thing about being a Leader-if your family owns the Gym, you can battle in the Gym at any age. Bugsy's only ten!"

"Yeah, sounds like I'll check it out," Gold said.

An hour and good meal made by the Nurse later, Gold was outside the Azalea Gym. As the doors slid open, a young man with green hair and a black shirt stood there.

"Who're you?" he asked coldly.

"I'm Gold. I'm challenging the Azalea Gym. Who are you?"

"I'm Aaron, previous leader of the Azalea Gym. Bugsy's out training for the week, so I'm taking the challenges for now." They walked inside, and Aaron explained the rules - one-on-one, the first one knocked out loses- and accepted his challenge.

"Go, Flare!" Gold said as Flare jumped off of his head and lit his back.

"A Fire-type? So, you're so weak you rely on type advantages to win? I'll show you type advantages aren't everything! Go, Scizor!"

"He says 'type advantages aren't everything' to the kid who beat the Violet Gym with a Bug-Type," Gold said under his breath.

Scizor started out with Bullet Punch, instantly outspeeding Flare and smashing into him with a shining claw. Flare rolled as he hit the ground, and set the grass around him on fire to hide. Scizor drew back from the fire, obviously knowing his biggest-and only- weakness.

Flare shot out using Quick Attack to get behind Scizor, and used Smokescreen to cover himself again. He didn't dare set this on fire, though, because he would take too much damage. He began to search for Scizor, and found him, but only because Scizor used Silver Wind to clear all the smoke. It then came in with another Bullet Punch, sending Flare flying again. However, Flare used Swift and landed on one of the stars, then used Flamethrower on the star, setting him and the star on fire. But because it was only his inner fire, and not an explosion, the fire didn't hurt him. He than spun towards Scizor, knocking out the red mantis.

"But... how?" Aaron said. "How could someone beat my Scizor? It's impossible! Nobody could do it! It couldn't happen-"

"Scizor is unable to battle!" announced the judge. "Cyndaquil and Gold win the match!"

"I know type advantages aren't everything, Aaron," Gold said. "I had to fight Falkner with a Ledian."

"But. Scizor. Can't. Lose." Aaron said, clenching his fists.

Gold was about to leave Aaron to his disbelief, but Scizor got up and ran at Flare, his claws glowing and his eyes showing hatred.

"Scizor! No!" the judge yelled. "The match is over!"

That didn't stop Scizor. It used X-Scissor, and all Flare could do was light the fire on its back to try and get a Flamethrower off- but the fire on his back made Scizor hesitate, just for a fraction of a second, before it got hit by a full-power Flamethrower at point-blank range. Scizor was blown across the room and slammed into the far wall, obviously out cold. Aaron withdrew it and rushed to the Pokemon Center right away.

But Flare began to glow white. He got brighter and brighter, then he grew longer and more muscular. He stopped glowing, and was a Quilava!

"Crap, now I can't ride on your head anymore," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm going back in that ball. That got old five months ago, when I was caught."

Gold just stood there, gawking.

---

Falkner took Crys out so she could loosen up from her shock while Gold challenged the Gym. They went to a hill at the edge of town, where the closest house belonged to an old man. Falkner brought some food from the Center so he didn't have to cook, and packed it like a picnic. As they stood on the hill, Crys explained about her father. She told Falkner everything, from his poisoning to the doctors saying they had to induce a coma to her fear of him dying. As she sat there, crying, Falkner had a suggestion.

"Do you want to ride on Staravia?" he asked. "He loves to carry people, and he wouldn't mind. It always cheers me up."

"S-sure," Crys said, wiping a tear from her eye as Falkner sent out Staravia. She sat on his back, and Staravia took off. At first she was frightened, but then she realized that Staravia was being very steady. All of a sudden, Falkner came up, riding Pidgeotto like a skateboard.

"See?" he yelled over the wind. "It feels amazing in the sky! The freedom, the fresh air, and the wind rushing through you... this is why the birds sing!"

Crys felt elated. She had never flown before, and she thought it was amazing. They flew around for a few hours with a few breaks and switching Pokemon, but after a while Staravia and Pidgeotto got tired and landed for the day. By this time it was already dusk, and Falkner sent out Murkrow.

"He loves flying blind," he explained. "I found him flying in a pitch-black forest with his eyes closed, and he was flying perfectly. I've trained him to use it, and I'll always let him fly at night, if I can."

He withdrew Pidgeotto and Staravia, and sat down with Crys. Then, Volbeat and Illumise began to come out and glow, creating an amazing scene.

"It looks... beautiful," Crys said, amazed.

"I know," was all Falkner could say. They sat there for a few minutes. Then, without knowing why, Falkner began to lean over to kiss Crys. As he leaned in, Murkrow came in low, and Falkner had to push Crys down so she didn't get hit. When Murkrow hit the ground and rolled, Falkner knew something was wrong. He turned around, and the cloaked man was there, holding Murkrow like a hostage.

"Kid, I'm gonna kill you and this bird of yours."

The Snorlax from the day before came up and ran into Falkner. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was "Just have to kill the other kid, too."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Crisis in the Well!

Gold wandered through Azalea Town, looking for Crys and Falkner. Falkner had told him that he was going to cheer Crys up, and Gold thought that Flare's evolution would cheer her up immensely. With a loud crash, Flare came around the corner at full speed, quickly followed by Ledya.

"We didn't see them anywhere," he said, panting.

"Crap, where could they be?" Gold wondered. "It's getting late. Ilex Forest is too gloomy, they aren't in the main town... hey, what about that hill near the edge of the forest?"

"I didn't check there," Flare replied. "Be back in a sec..."

"Wait!" Gold said, drawing looks from the surrounding pedestrians. "You're tired. Back in your Pokeball, and I don't care how uncomfortable it is. You need a rest."

Gold started walking towards the hill, followed by Ledya. The moon started to rise. He left the bulk of the town's buildings, and he saw the hill instantly. It had a small house at its foot, and Volbeat and Illumise were dancing in a spectacular show. When Gold got to the house at the foot of the hill, a man came rushing out.

"I'll kill them if they harm the sacred Slowpoke!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Wait, Grandpa!" a young woman yelled after him. "You'll get hurt!" But the old man was already gone.

"What was he going after?" Gold asked.

"Someone said they saw a shady man go down the Slowpoke Well. It's a sacred place for Azalea Town, because whenever there's a drought, there's always been enough water in the well. My grandfather, Kurt, is the caretaker." When she had said this, a bright, blue light erupted from the east, across town. "That was from the Slowpoke Well!" she yelled.

The blue light dissipated, and Gold rushed off to help the old man, forgetting about Crys and Falkner. About halfway through town, Falkner's Staravia flew into Gold. It tried to pick him up and drag him towards the Slowpoke Well, but Gold calmed it down. He stopped by the Pokemon Center, asking if someone could take care of it for a while, and rushed towards the Well again.

When he got there, the ground was wet and muddy, and he slipped and fell, sliding towards the hole in the ground that was the Well. He barely managed to grab the edge before he fell, and the Well was very deep, about twenty feet down, but it was bone-dry. Gold reached over to a ladder and climbed down, finding the old man, Kurt, and the bottom.

"Aaaahhhh!" he said. "I slid down and missed the ladder-I think my leg's broken! D-don't worry about me, though! The hooligans who drained the Well are deeper in. I can hear the anguished cries of Slowpoke-help them!"

"But your leg-" Gold said, thinking quickly. He looked around, and had Ledya gather some long, slender sticks. Then he used some string in his backpack to make a crude splint. "That should hold for now, but don't try to move very far. I'll be back for you later." With that, he rushed off.

When he heard voices, Gold slowed down and began to keep to the shadows, having Ledya stay high to alert him with a quick cry, should anything happen.

"That bird got away-I swear, it caught on fire! I dropped the cage and it broke, then the bird started glowing blue and flew off!" one voice said.

"Those kids that took out the guard are in the back. They put up a fight, too," another voice said.

"The guard got arrogant and bored, attacked the kids just for being there..." Gold didn't hear the rest of the sentence. It was Crys and Falkner! They were in the back, too. Now he knew where they were.

As he snuck around the corner, a guard in black clothes with a red "R" on his chest grabbed him. "Got the third one, too. Now we have three meddling kids. Executive Blake is gonna have fun with this one."

"Or not," Gold said. "Ledya, use Silver Wind!"

As he yelled this, two things happened. The first was, obviously, Ledya using Silver Wind. It knocked away the two guards standing over Gold, but then the bad part happened: all the surrounding guards heard this and sent out their Pokemon. Gold was now surrounded by Ekans, Koffing, Grimer, Gulpin, Zubat, and their direct evolutions.

"Crys is gonna hate me for this," Gold said and he sent out Flare, "but it has to be done. Flare, use Flame Wheel! Ledya, use Bug Buzz!"

As the two carried out their attacks, flying and running through to affect as many as possible, Gold made a mad dash for the back. The guards had told the truth about Staravia, as Gold identified the attack as Brave Bird, and they told the truth about the guard on the road. Why would they lie about his friend's location, in the hardest-to-reach place of the Well? But, as Gold had suspected, the Poison-types didn't care about the two attacking Pokemon. They were after Gold.

Rounding many corners and jumping over small streams, Gold eventually found his way through, powered only by adrenaline. He only came to one fork, and guessed it. He guessed right, too. There was a cage with Crys and Falkner at the end of the corridor.

"Flare, use Flame Wheel on the lock!" Gold shouted, grabbing his friends' attention. Flare rushed past him, jumped up to tackle the lock, and was blocked by a Crobat's Air Cutter.

"Ah-ah-ahh," said a voice. "I can't have you escaping after all the trouble you've caused us. All the Slowpoke tails we're... harvesting are raking in quite the profit. We can't lose that profit to some bratty teenagers, can we? Crobat, would you kindly use Air Cutter on that annoying Ledian?"

The Crobat sent out multiple blades of air, and, though Ledya dodged many of them, they knocked her out. But Flare was on Crobat's case right away, using Swift to keep it occupied and he came in close to slash and tackle. Crobat dodged many of them, but most of the Swift stars and a few tackles and slashes made contact. Then, Crobat caught on fire.

"Huh," Gold said. "I didn't use a fire attack."

"Gold!" Falkner yelled. "It's using Brave Bird! Get away! He's after YOU!"

Gold realized what Falkner said was right, but he couldn't move fast enough. The glowing, blue bat was rushing at Gold, ready to kill him...

"Slowpoke, use Confusion!" someone yelled. Numerous heads reacted faster than people thought Slowpoke could, their anger from losing their tails, along with chances of evolution, feeding their speed. Their eyes glowed purple, and Crobat stopped in midair. Then, it was thrown backwards, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

"Now, Slowpoke, let's drive these hooligans out!" the voice yelled again, and Gold recognized it as Kurt. He turned around, seeing Kurt having a few Slowpoke helping him move. The Slowpoke began to glow purple again, but this time, it was their whole bodies. After about ten seconds, Kurt began to head for the entrance as fast as possible with a broken leg. "Gold, I'd get your friends out quickly, because something bad's about to happen."

Gold turned around, but the guard's leader wasn't there. Gold had Flare break the lock, and Falkner put Crys on Pidgeotto so she didn't see the Poison Pokemon on her way out, then they all sprinted for the exit. Flare led the way for Falkner and Gold, using Flame Wheel to clear out any remaining challengers to his power, while Crys and Pidgeotto flew much quicker and picked up Kurt on the way out. As they began to climb the ladder, Gold withdrew Flare, and noticed that there was an ambient purple glow in the Well. Kurt yelled down, but the words were lost in the hypnotic buzz that began. Something about a Future attack... or seeing, no, Sight. Yeah, that was it.... Then, the purple glow intensified and seemed to explode with massive energy. Gold's vision went from purple to black.


End file.
